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1961 Utah State

9–⁠1–⁠1 (5–⁠0–⁠1 Skyline Conference), coached by John Ralston, finished No. 10 in the AP poll.

Schedule and results

Utah State in 1961, game by game: won vs. UTEP 21–6; won vs. Montana 54–6; won at Washington State 34–14; tied at Wyoming 6–6; won vs. New Mexico 41–7; won at Colorado State 49–3; won vs. Idaho 69–0; won at BYU 31–8; won at Western Michigan 65–22; won at Utah 17–6; lost vs. Baylor 9–24+69−15Won 21–6 vs. UTEP+15UTEPWon 54–6 vs. Montana+48MontanaWon 34–14 at Washington State+20Washington StateTied 6–6 at Wyoming0WyomingWon 41–7 vs. New Mexico+34New MexicoWon 49–3 at Colorado State+46Colorado StateWon 69–0 vs. Idaho+69IdahoWon 31–8 at BYU+23BYUWon 65–22 at Western Michigan+43Western MichiganWon 17–6 at Utah+11UtahLost 9–24 vs. Baylor-15Baylor
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below.
DateOpponentResultElo
Sep 16vsUTEPW 21–⁠677%
Sep 23vsMontanaW 54–⁠680%
Sep 30atWashington StateW 34–⁠1451%
Oct 7atWyomingT 6–⁠638%
Oct 14vsNew MexicoW 41–⁠774%
Oct 21atColorado StateW 49–⁠381%
Oct 28vsIdahoW 69–⁠090%
Nov 4atBYUW 31–⁠882%
Nov 11atWestern MichiganW 65–⁠2290%
Nov 18atUtahW 17–⁠656%
Dec 9Bowls & playoffvsBaylorGotham BowlL 9–⁠2469%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Lost to Baylor 24–⁠9 in the Gotham Bowl; No. 10 in the final AP poll; Skyline Conference champions.

In program history: The 6th-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 120 on file).

AP poll, week by week

  1. Final: 10

Players on this team

Before 2004 our records hold honors and the draft; these are the players whose college years here, from their Wikipedia articles or their honors, include 1961.

Skyline Conference champions5–⁠0–⁠1 in the conference, shared with Wyoming

Led the nationTom Larscheid: punt return average (23.4)

Outland TrophyMerlin Olsen, OT

Consensus All-AmericanMerlin Olsen, OT

Record
9–⁠1–⁠1
Conference
5–⁠0–⁠1 shared first in Skyline Conference
AP final
No. 10 peak No. 10
Points
396–⁠102
Coach
John Ralston
Elo
1644 +93 this season
SP+ rating
—
SRS
12.0 No. 22 of 111 major-college teams
Recruiting class
—

Drafted in 1962

The 1962 draft
Rd 1Merlin Olsen DTLos Angeles Rams
Rd 2Clyde Brock OTChicago Bears
Rd 1Merlin Olsen DTDenver Broncos (AFL)

1961 Skyline Conference standings

TeamConf.OverallAP final
Utah State5–⁠0–⁠19–⁠1–⁠110
Wyoming5–⁠0–⁠16–⁠1–⁠2
New Mexico3–⁠37–⁠4
Utah3–⁠36–⁠4
Montana2–⁠42–⁠6
BYU2–⁠42–⁠8
Colorado State0–⁠60–⁠10

Ordered by conference winning percentage, then conference wins. Division splits and tiebreakers aren’t applied.